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My buddy and I are looking at a Pursuit with quite a few hours on the Crusader 454's. In asking around our marina, we've gotten a lot of different responses to the question, "what is the lifespan of these motors?" Some people are saying anything more than a few hundred is too many...others say thousands of hours are normal. I realize that all hours are not "equal". Usage, maintenance, careful operation, etc. all play a big part in engine life...but I'm looking for some input and guidelines. Thanks!
the part about "anything more than a few hundred" is probably a little extreme.. but as you say maintenance and operation have the most to do with it... why not just have them checked out.. starting with compression, and review of the maintenance records..
My father went 1600 on a set of Crusader 350s w/ regular maintenance. They were still running great when he sold the boat.
If those motors have been maintained properly, you could probably get 2000 hrs out of them before requiring a rebuild/repower. Ask to see maintenance records and have them checked out. A good surveyor will not only be able to evaluate the condition of the boat, but the engines as well.
I've got just over 1000 hours out of a pair of 454 Mercs on my 1986 33 Bertram. Compression is excellant, they don't burn oil and run great. I expect (hope) to get at least another 500 hours out of them before I have to do a valve job. This is in a boat that weighs 22K lbs. The Pursuit you're looking at is almost definately lighter.
I've had a couple of different mechanics tell me that the bottom end of these engines are pretty much solid for 2000 hours.
Of course, maintenance is the wild card. If they are well maintained you should get 1500 hrs easy. If not, its a crap shoot. Try and get some maintenance records from the prior owner.
Also, make sure you get a compression and/or leak down test done at the survey.
You should be able to get 1500 plus out of those engines if maintained properly. First thing to go would be the manifolds/risers. A lot of poeple change them after 5 or 6 years just to be on the safe side. If they go and you ingest salt water and don't detect it in time you could be looking at a total rebuild.
The fact that they are Crusaders is important because IMHO, they are better engines than most other 454's. I bought a boat with alot of hours and years with the knowledge that the engines would have to be replaced. They were Crusader 454's. They recieved virtually no maintenance in their 15 year life span and were barely running when I got the boat. We did some work on them, nothing major, and ran the boat from Miami to Jacksonville with no problems. The engines ran very stong with the only problem being they leaked oil severely. These engines needed new gaskets to stop that and then they should be good for many more years. Unfortunately, I sold the boat to a person who cranks them about once per year and wonders why they don't run.
crusaders ARE better engines that mercs, and i
have a merc...of course, how you run the thing
and how you care for it are huge variables, but
being equal, crusaders could well go over 2k
and even onward toward 3k...i dont think gas
will go beyond that....the mercs start will
probs by 1500 and almost never get to 2k...mine
has 1500 and is running perfectly...needs mani-
folds and risers soon (third set), and if i can
go to 2k before repowering, i will declare vic-
tory for a mercruiser owner....if i could re-
power with crusaders i definitely would....dan
Maintenance depends on the engines. On FWC, its said to do the elbows (and if applicable risers) every 5 years. Manifolds every 10.
If the engines are RWC in saltwater its probably 3 and 5.
My last boat was a 1981 28 Bert with FWC 305 Mercs that had about 1200 hrs on them. The second year I owned it, I decided to replace the elbows, risers, and old log style maniflds so I could upgrade to centerrise and eliminate the risers. The old elbows and risers were 6 years old and showed no scale or build up.
This year I replaced the elbows on my 1986 33 Bert. This is my second year with this boat. These elbows were a mess and probably would not have lasted the season.
Both boats are fwc and run in the Atlantic ocean. One set was fine after 6 years, the second was toast. There are some guys at my club who have owned their boats for 10 years without even pulling the elbows or risers. Go figure?
Replacing my 1989 Volvo / GM 350's 1750 hrs still running good but getting on in age and hrs. No a bad run thought almost 2k and 14 years pushing a 10,000 pound boat.
I will replace with Vortec 325 hp 5.7 litre Crusader motors.
Your motors should last about the same amount of time depending on the use and care they recieve.
Dave
American built V8 gasoline motors built using older technology are a hardy breed. If you keep oil in the crankase and the temperature while operating from getting too hot then you can expect a long life from these engines. They may burn more oil and gasoline as they get older but they can be tough to kill and may keep running as long as you keep dumping in oil and gas.
Crusader is one of the better builders. If the compression is still good on the motors and not too much oil has been burned during a 1-2 hour sea trial, then you should have a winner.
We were talking to one of the local charter captains who just replaced his Crusaders after 6000 hours! He fished 200 days last year...pretty amazing for our short boating season.
I'm starting to be a lot less worried about the hours on the boat we are looking at after hearing some of your comments. Thanks!
Crusader 454's - How many hours is too many? 
